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The climate of our middle school is very large, with it being based in a larger metropolitan area. The middle school holds grades 6 through 8 and encompasses roughly 1,800 students, with each grade being near 600 or more students each. With such a large population, class sizes are larger, with most being between 25 to 30 students on average, with art, music, and physical education classes holding more. The climate of the school is lower to middle class with a variety of races and ethnicities being represented.

The topic we are covering is that of anxiety. Anxiety is very prevalent within this demographic as they encounter many life and developmental changes, and more recently how their lives and schooling were impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the literature, there are several approaches and considerations to take into account when working with middle schoolers with anxiety. According to a blog post by Kelly Frazee (2021) called 3 Steps to Helping Middle School Students with Anxiety, some key approaches that professionals and teachers can use to aid these students is to Affirm, Empower, and Check-In. She discussed how, when speaking to a student about their anxiety, the more common techniques that are addressed to students only worked temporarily and their anxiety persisted. By affirming to them that anxiety is a biological reaction to stressful situations, empowering them to process and identify their emotions, and checking-in periodically to see how they are coping (Frazee, 2021), we can help students to work towards their goals and cope with their anxieties. These things and more can be accomplished through group counseling, given that it is the correct fit and approach for the student.

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Needs Assessments are a tool utilized by school counselors to gather a variety of information about the students and their academic and social/emotional needs (Sink, 2012). For our project, the target audience is that of 6th through 8th grade students who have dealt with a great deal of anxiety not only from the Covid-19 pandemic, but from their everyday lives and developmental stages as well. Students who are showing atypical behavior ranging from not participating at all to acting out, as well as those who have seen a sharp decline in grades and an increased amount of missing schoolwork as well as a multitude of absences are those that we could pinpoint as benefiting from a Needs Assessment to evaluate if group counseling would benefit them. Some questions we could include are:

1) "How often on a scale of 1-5 do you feel too nervous to go to school?"
2) "On a scale of 1-5, how anxious do test's make you feel?"
3) "On a scale of 1-5, how anxious does interacting with your peers make you?"

Hypothetically, the results of this assessment would inform us about the day-to-day anxiety that these children experience and at what level. Although some base level anxiety is normal, the higher they scale their anxiety the more it seems to be having an impact on their regular function and therefore impeding upon their academic and social/emotional well-being.

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All about MY 2022-2023 Needs Assessments?! | An Inspiring Question by You| School Counselor Edition

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With the normal anxieties that come with the transition from childhood to adolescence, the Covid-19 pandemic has added more. Students are worried about getting sick, getting loved ones and friends sick, and they may have experienced loss as a result of the pandemic. Their schooling was drastically impacted as well; with remote learning being utilized for some time, their learning took a toll as students may have suffered as a result, with the inability to learn the material properly and in the presence of a teacher. A peer-reviewed article titled The status of adolescent health during the COVID-19 pandemic discusses the impact that the pandemic has had on not just the physical health of adolescents but their emotional well being as well. The article mentions that, upon reviewing the results of the study, "Effective approaches and policies in this crisis, especially for adolescents, can alleviate the anxious reactions and be a way to meet their health needs appropriately" (Alamolhada, et. al., 2022).

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Through this group experience, the broad goals and objectives are to help students work through and express their anxieties about life and school. Also, there are a number of ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors that would be targeted, including:

Mindset Standards:

M 1. Belief in development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional and physical well-being
M 4. Self-confidence in ability to succeed

Behavior Standards:

B-LS 4. Self-motivation and self-direction for learning
B-LS 7. Long- and short-term academic, career and social/emotional goals

B-SMS 2. Self-discipline and self-control
B-SMS 5. Perseverance to achieve long- and short-term goals
B-SMS 6. Ability to identify and overcome barriers
B-SMS 7. Effective coping skills
B-SMS 10. Ability to manage transitions and adapt to change

B-SS 8. Advocacy skills for self and others and ability to assert self, when necessary
B-SS 9. Social maturity and behaviors appropriate to the situation and environment

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The parameters set for the group sessions are for the students to have an open forum. Where they can freely and respectfully express their thoughts and feelings, clear goals and expectations are set for the group to abide by during group sessions. Students will respect each other privacy, maintain confidentially among the group, and actively participate in the group sessions. Students will listen to each other's perspectives and promote a judgment-free environment.

Due to the large student population, the group size will consist of 10 to 15 students. Group sessions will be for all grade levels, sixth to eighth grade. Because anxiety affects all people, all races, all ages, and all gender, the group sessions will be in a co-ed environment. Due to the severity of the topic, we will use open-ended questions to address the needs of the students.

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Group sessions have been developed to utilize strategies to assist students in overcoming the challenges that cause anxiety. During group sessions, we will address different types of anxiety, such as panic disorders, generalized anxiety, and social anxiety. Students will learn building relationship techniques with other students, identify what triggers the anxiety, and identify potential solutions. Evaluating the contributing factors that cause the anxiety, whether it is stress, the environment in which the student lives, or the student setting non-realistic goals. The students are on a block schedule with two forty-minute lunches. Students will meet for group sessions once a week during both lunches in a classroom.

https://youtu.be/5XNtRqYAfsA

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The group sessions are open to all students who want to participate in these discussions. However, the targeted population will be those students that teachers referred, parents who reached out to the counselors with concerns about their child, and those who display signs of anxiety. It will be suggested that students bring along friends they know could benefit from the group sessions.

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13) Measuring Group Efficacy Through Experience

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13) Measuring Group Efficacy Through Experience

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The efficacy experience of the group is measured by how each student will gain experience and more knowledge about the topic of anxiety simply by participating in it. Students who are motivated and engaged to learn about anxiety will find it beneficial to learn how it affects today's society. School counselors want to find out whether students will reach their personal and overall goals and any behavior changes as a result of the group experience.

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www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issuses/conditions/emotional-problems/page/anxiety-disorders.aspx

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/when-kids-call-the-shots/2017/12/5-reasons-group-therapy-is-the-best-choiceforstrugglingteens

www.rtor.org/2019/11/20/group-theraphy-for-anixety/

http://nationalsocialanxietycenter.com/2018/03/21/benefits-group-therapy-social-anxiety/

Walden Peer - Reviewed:

LaGreca, A. M. Lopez, N., LaGreca, A.M., Ehrenreich-May, J., Mufson, L., Chan , S. (2016). Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents Child & Youth Car Forum, 45, 905-926

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Gathering feedback from students is important because it is a valuable way to assess any further group goals. By understanding how students are learning and experiencing group efforts, everyone in the group puts themselves in a position of being able to improve and make any sharing information more effective.
Asking specific questions that may be included as an evaluation of the group experience is a beneficial way to collect student feedback.
Examples of questions may be:
1. What would you do or share differently?
2. Did this group meeting meet most expectations about the topic of Anxiety?
3. Did you find my style of leading the meeting interesting and compelling?
4. Do you feel that we achieved the goals outlined in the meeting agenda?
5. Did the group meeting give you what you need to solve problems that may have been present before the meeting?
6. What could have been done better to reach our goals or expectations?

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We would have to base our theoretical orientation based on the details we’ve learned and compiled and once we spilt up our groups based off this information, we would be able to determine which is the best for that particular group. It may sound like a lot, but it would be the best to help benefit reach group since every mind works differently and responds to different forms of the therapy.

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middle school group thereapy - Bing video

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Tuker, Austin, MSW. (2022) Anxiety in Middle School - McLean School

American School Counselor Assocaition. (2022). ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors.

Sink, C. A., Edwards, C., & Eppler, C. (2012). School based group counseling. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole

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We would need the age of each student. We would separate the groups based off of the ages and what anxiety level each individual is displaying. This will determine what students to put in which groups experiencing the same level on the anxiety. The factors that help determine this is, home life, workload, puberty, self-awareness & identity, emotional and physical state. We would need to know what their goals were, if they are wanting to be in counseling voluntary or involuntary, including what we’ve gained from our individual assessment and our group assessment requirements.

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Dealing with group counseling, confidentiality concerns would be with other members of the group upholding that policy.” . The school counselor should make attempts to gain assent appropriate to the individual student (e.g., in the student’s preferred language) prior to disclosure.” (ASCA,2022) I believe education and understanding would be a concern when discussing certain topics, diversity considerations. “. Group Workers continuously seek information regarding the cultural issues of the diverse population with whom they are working both by interaction with participants and from using outside resources.” (Thomas & Pender, 2008) and “. Provide students with a culturally responsive school counseling program that promotes academic, career and social/emotional development and equitable opportunity and achievement outcomes for all students.” (ASCA, 2022)

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Alamolhoda, S. H., Zare, E., & Nasiri, M. (2022). The status of adolescent health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Medicine & Life, 15(5), 675–678. https://doi.org/10.25122/jml-2021-0287.

American School Counselor Association. (2019a). ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs (4th ed.).

Frazee, K. (2021, December 14). 3 Steps to Helping Middle School Students with Anxiety. EVERFI. https://everfi.com/blog/k-12/3-steps-to-helping-middle-school-students-with-anxiety/

Sink, C. A., Edwards, C., & Eppler, C. (2012). School based group counseling. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

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After providing an assessment and perhaps an individual meeting with each student to obtain the proper documentation of race, ethnicity, academics, social, personal, and such information, we would then compile a list of what our goal is for these groups and what would work best together. We would need to create a list and grouping of where each student falls under after reviewing their assessment. We will need to decide if those in these groups will benefit from each other's participation and the overall group.

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Counselors will present a PowerPoint Presentation to the administration and teachers during a faculty meeting before the group sessions with the students. The presentation will inform the teachers about the effects of anxiety among students, statistics will show how students were significantly affected during COVID -19, and tips and techniques for the teachers to use in the classrooms to reduce the anxiety students may feel in the classroom. Parents will receive written communication through flyers, the school website, and the text communication system to inform parents. Students will be sent home with a form to be signed by parents giving the student permission to participate in the group sessions.

https://youtu.be/wr4N-SdekqY